Latest Event Updates

We hope that you had a great Thanksgiving Holiday and enjoyed your friends and family as well as great food.Due to the holiday last week, we didn’t post new books out for the week.This week we’ll attempt to give you what came out last week and this week. Enjoy.

Week of 11/19:

Grace Burrowes – Respect for Christmas

Sidney Halston – [Panic 04] – What About Us

Elisabeth Naughton – [Deadly Secrets 04] – Unspeakable

Lori Foster – [Road to Love 01] – Driven to Distraction

Julia Quinn – [Rokesbys 03] -The Other Miss Bridgerton

Vivian Arend – [Stones of Heart Falls 03] – A Rancher’s Bride

Elin Peer – [The Men of the North] – The Athlete

Week of 11/26:

Aurora Rose Reynolds – [Until Him 03] – Until Cobi

Kristen Proby – [With Me in Seattle 11] – Love With Me

Laurann Dohner – [Vorage Crew 04] – Raff

Terri Anne Browning – [The Vitucci Mafiosos 04] – Her Mafioso King

Kendall Ryan – [Whiskey Kisses 05] – Hunky Heartbreaker

Please keep in mind that these are books that we are interested in reading and will probably read.If there is something out there that you would like to recommend, please pass on the info.We would love to hear from you.Happy reading.

Welcome back readers, we hope that you had an awesome holiday season – enjoyed family, had some time to read a couple good books. This is just a quick post to tell you of the books that have come out this week or since Christmas.

On the week of 12/24:

Terri Anne Browning – Tainted Bastard (Tainted Knight #4)

Week of 1/7:

Robyn Carr – The Best of Us (Sullivans Crossing #4)

J.R. Ward – Prisoner of Night (Black Dagger Brotherhood 16.5)

Kendall Ryan – Finding Alexei

Jane Ann Krentz – Untouchable (Cutler, Sutter, and Salinas #3)

Nana Malone – Teasing the Princess (Royals United #2)

Alyssa Cole – Once Ghosted, Twice Shy (Reluctant Royals 2.5)

Carrie Ann Ryan – Forever Broken (Talon Pack 9)

Which books are you most excited about? Is there something that you are reading or purchasing that is not listed? Please leave a comment below to tell us all about it. We will be getting together soon for the first book discussion of the year. Our books for this year are Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts and Stay With Me by Alexandria House. If you’ve read them comment below about your thoughts. We’ll share our thoughts soon.

There are some book that came out this week that we are SUPER excited about. We hope that you get excited about them as well.
Anthology – Christmas with a Rock Star

Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott – [Rock Revenge 03] – Rock Redemption

Christina Lauren – My Favorite Half-Night Stand

Donna Grant – [The Kindred 03] – Everbound

Gena Showalter – [Lords of the Underworld 14.5] – The Darkest Captive

Ilona Andrews – [Innkeeper 3.5] – Sweep of the Blade

Nora Roberts – [The One 02] – Of Blood and Bone (This one has been highly anticipated since we read the 1st installment last year).

Ruby Dixon – [Icehome 05] – Angie’s Gladiator.

This next two books are weirdly ordered in the Celta series. “Script of the Heart” is technically numbered 9a on Goodreads, although it just came out late October and the series is currently on the 15th installment in the series; and Goodreads has “Celta Cats” listed as the 17th installment. We are confused about the placement in the chronological order, but still excited to read the books.

Robin D. Owens – [Celta 15.5] – Celta Cats

Robin D. Owens – [Celta 9.5] – Script of the Heart

We hope you guys are as excited about this list as we are. Of Blood and Bone is one of the books we are reading for January. If you get a chance to read it, we would love to hear your opinion of it; otherwise look for our review in January. Have a good rest of your week.

It’s time for the recap of our monthly bookclub meeting book review. Our meeting was postponed a week due to scheduling conflicts, but we were glad to be back together. So let’s get right into the review.

The first book we read was a serial book (or so we want to call it), Shopping For A Billionaire by Julia Kent. This book garnered mixed reactions for the books. Two of us like it. We thought it was hilarious and like several RomCom’s we’ve all seen (Something About Mary, Date Night, et. al.) The remaining four quickly became frustrated with all of the issues that Shannon, the heroine, endured. Really who could constantly go through what she goes through and not feel she has been cursed. The mother seemed to ignite a negative reaction from our members who felt that she was a bit too invasive in the Shannon’s life. Why didn’t Shannon set some boundaries with her mother? There was a break-up between Shannon and Declan, the hero. One reader felt that this “break” was not thoroughly hashed out. Why didn’t Shannon get “closure” with Declan? Why did she just let things end? It was like she just let it end. Don’t get us wrong, there were a couple of us who liked the book and will c﻿ontinue on with the series. So this book gets 2 smoochies.

The second book we read was Consumed by JR Ward. This book also garnered mixed reviews. For the most part everyone liked the book. We just did not like nor understand the issues Anne, the heroine, had with her mother. Self-righteous is a word that sticks out in this writers mind and was agreed with by other members. We all agreed that therapy is needed by A LOT of the characters, and the sad thing was that only one person really got it and that was the hero, Danny. The highlight of the book in this writers opinion, was when Danny went back to the therapist and saying I’m in love with this girl and if I don’t get some therapy, I’m probably going to F-up this relationship. We really liked the pre=quel books that led up to the first book and most of us will be continue with the series. The series put Chicago Fire and Station 19 in mind. We are HUGE fans of JR Ward and are glad to see something new to get hooked on. So this book gets 3 smoochies.

Ok Sugarbook lovers, we will not be reading any books for the month of December because our group will be having a Christmas dinner out and we won’t be able to really discuss anything (although we most likely won’t be able to not talk about something that we are reading) in that setting. We did pick out books for January. Drum roll please……

Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts (Chronicles of The One #2)

Stay with Me by Alexandria House

Playing the Field by Erika Reed.

Yes!!!! We are going to read 3 books for January!!!! What are we thinking? We are going to check out Erika Reed’s book at her request. Actually she is a follower of the blog and commented that she would love to be on our roster. So Erika-girl, hold on for your smoochies. This is a shorter book, and we felt that we could read it with multiple books and not feel overwhelmed. Last year we started the Chronicles of The One series and was BLOWN AWAY by that book and have been on pins and needles waiting on the next book – therefore we HAD to read it as soon as it came out. The third book was a request by a member. This was our thinking. We have NOT picked out any other books for 2019, and would love suggestions. If you have something that you feel we would enjoy, pass it on. We can add it on to next years roster.

Have a great holiday season everyone, love your family, and get take some time to get some quality reading done. Finish up those Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge.

This is an older post that got lost in the archives that we decided to bring out. We know that Outlander is a HUGE phenomenon; and wanted to put this post out that gave our thoughts before it happened. Enjoy.

With the start of Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, on Starz recently, the discussion of the epic novel has returned in our book club. In the past, there have been many opinions about this really long novel. Most of our members have read the book and enjoyed it to some degree. This contributor has not read the book and will not be reading it. I also have not watched the series on Starz although the remaining members are watching it. One of our members decided to read (or have her Kindle read to her) the epic because she wanted to know the story as she watched it on television.

In our last meeting she asked why I wasn’t interested in reading or watching it and (spoiler alert if you have not read the book) I replied that I did not like the fact that Jamie was violated in the worst way (raped) by the bad guy in the story. I don’t know many character names because I didn’t read it, but the discussion over years has always left Jamie’s name prominent in my mind and the fact that he was violated at his own surrender. He was said to have done this to save the heroine, Claire. It was a sacrifice. My opinion is that it tarnished some of the alpha-ness of the hero (Jamie) to me.

Some may argue that there were other hero’s who have been violated that I still loved; Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Styxx for example. But let me say that Styxx was always attached, drugged and raped typically when he was a young man; and when his opportunity presented itself, he KILLED the person that was raping him. Jamie turned himself in to be raped to save Claire and i don’t think he killed his assailant right away; this was an epic after all.

Of course knowing that the violation occurred in the book, there was great discussion about whether it was going to be shown or discussed on the show. The member who just read the book said that she was going to not be able to view that scene if so because she really loves Jamie and doesn’t want to have that happen to him. There were emails sent back and forth about it and Bertlyn, our staunch Outlander fan and supporter had this to say about it.

“I love this series and I watched every minute of everything. It’s real life that you know has a HEA in the end. Real life sucks and then it doesn’t you have to go through things and keep moving. To me that’s what its all about. Everyone doesn’t have it so bad but some do it’s another perspective on life may not be yours, pray that its not, but you best to believe that its someone’s. Life sucks but you keep on pressing on to the ed an that’s what they do. Don’t think they will show the actual rape because it was never shown in the book, just Jamie reliving it in telling it to Claire and not in great detail just that it happened. It’s also about sick love, he loved Jamie and wanted his love in return. People do crazy things in the name of love but true love wins in the end.”

What are your thoughts? Are you currently watching Outlander on Starz?

Hello Sugarbook Lovers,
We decided that we would like to do something extra and different. We attempt to keep everyone advised about what we are reading each month and what we thought of the books; but one of the things that we inevitably end up doing in our meetings is discussion of what’s coming out soon (like that week) and get excited about it. So we thought it would be good to do a weekly “What Came Out This Week – Sugarbook Edition”. It will be called Sugarbook Edition because it will most likely be comprised of books that we are excited about.
This post will have three weeks of books to give y’all. The next ones will (hopefully) be one week long. We hope it is helpful to you.Week of October 22, 2018
Blood Bond by Shannon K. Butcher (Sentinel Wars #10)
York by Laurann Dohner (The Vorge Crew #3)
Reveling in Sin by Meghan March (Sin Trilogy #3)
Muffin Top by Avery Flynn (Hartigans #2)
Demon Walking by Eve Langlais (Dragon Point #6)Week of October 29, 2018
Archangel’s Prophecy by Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter #11) (this writer likes to listen to the audio of these)
Dragonfire by Donna Grant (Dark Kings 14)
Leopard’s Run by Christine Feehan (Leopard #11)
Shadow and Ice by Gena Showalter (Gods of War #1)
The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Origin #1)
Judgement by Jenika Snow
Bad Situation by Brynne Asher (Montgomerys #1)Week of November 5, 2018
Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews (Hidden Legacy #3.5)
Dining With Angels by Larissa Ione (Demonica #17.5 – this is a catch-up with characters story with recipes included)
My One and Only Duke by Grace Burrowes (Rogues to Riches #1)
Smoldering Desire by Elle James (Hellfire #3)
Dirty Sexy Games by Laurelin Paige (Dirty Games Duet #2)
Well, this is the list as we set it. Again this is a new idea for us and we wholeheartedly want your thoughts and opinions about this and its format. Would you prefer to have the links for purchasing the books? Would you like to see the book covers along with the links? Let us know. Thanks so much for taking a look at our page once again, see you soon.
Smooches,

Hello Sugarbook lovers,
This post is going to include our recap of two months’ worth of the books that we have read. For September we read 69 Million Things I Hate About You by Kira Archer and Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens.

The 1st book, 69 Million Things I Hate About You was read entirely by 3 of us and DNF by 2 (one member was recovering from surgery so did not attempt any of the books for this month). It was agreed by all that the concept seemed too unbelievable to like. The main premise of the book is that the heroine tried to get fired from her position as the executive assistant to a very demanding, handsome, and arrogant CEO/co-owner (the hero). Why not just quit! There was a bet/pool going around the company email and they expected the bosses not to find out. REALLY!
What we did like about the book was the concept of friends buying lottery tickets and winning. As a result, we are now going to start our own lottery pool.

The 2nd book of the month, Devil’s Bride was read by 4 and DFN by 1. This was a reread for the majority of us, but a happy to read again all the same. This is the unanimously agreed book that is Historical Romance Gold. The first story in the series of the Cynster family saga about Devil Cynster and Honoria Wetherby. A couple that meets under unusual circumstances that cause them to instantly become a couple. Because this was a reread we were able to look at the book without rose-colored glasses. So we found things that we did not like about the book. The main thing that we did not like was Honoria Wetherbys’ unrelenting need to hold on to the dream of traveling to Africa. Even when it was obvious to the reader that she liked being “Devil’s Duchess”, pride kept her from admitting it and that her dream of going to Africa had changed. Some felt that Honoria was pressured into getting married by everyone and she gave in because of it. Did her brother guilt her into agreeing by saying that their parents had raised her to be a duchess and she would honor them by stepping in to the role? A few members said they thought so. Others said that it should be noted that Devil never pressured her into excepting, he felt confident in his ability to convince her, but never did he bully her. We all agreed that his hesitancy to admit his feeling for her because it would make him seem weak was bull; and if he had admitted it earlier, she would have acquiesced sooner.
Again, this is an older book and for that reason we welcome others thoughts.

Ok….now for the month of October. Our member that had surgery was back with us so we were back to 6 reviews. The two books that we read this month were Generations by M.L. Briers, and Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti.

The review of Generations, which was a quick read of only 173 pages, will be quick.
We hated it….unanimously…except for the person that recommended it. We just couldn’t find anything to say about it, other than we hated it. So that is all we had to say about that book.

The 2nd book, Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti had a different flow. This is the first book in a new series. The story of Pippa and Malcolm West. We liked this book! 5 THUMBS UP! There was one member that did not read the book. But the rest really liked it and are SUPER excited about the other books to come. We all felt the highlight of the book was the dog and Wolfe and his kitten in the pocket. The one flaw in the book felt by some of us was, the time we had to wait to find out what Pippa was running from. Why did it take so long for this to be revealed? A few of us figured it out (SPOILER ALERT!: she was running from a cult) early on, but why not just get it out there so we could go forward.
The next book in the series is about Hunter Holt and Faye Smith, who we met in the 1st book. It’s an interesting story that wasn’t one we expected next, but one we’re all excited about.

So to recap……

69 Million Things I Hate About You got 3 smoochies 💋💋💋

Devil’s Bride got 4 smoochies 💋💋💋💋

Generations got 1 smooch💋

Hidden got 5 smoochies. 💋💋💋💋💋

Next month we will be reading a serial book by Julia Kent Shopping For A Billionaire and the first book in a new series by J. R. Ward Consumed. We welcome any and all comments that you have about the books we are reading or have read. See you next month.